Make: Rainy day bag

I made this simple oilcloth shopping bag almost 3 years ago and it’s still going strong, carrying my lunchbox and shopping to and from work every day.

Now you can get the pattern to make your own oilcloth shopping bag by visiting my Etsy shop for MakeMeDo here.

Oilcloth shopping bag

The A4 pdf pattern includes detailed diagrams and text to make it easy for you to make. Designed for confident beginners, the bag involves sewing with oilcloth (which is easier than you might think), topstitching, sewing poppers, making and attaching straps, and slip stitching by hand.

The finished bag measures 28cm wide x 34cm high x 10cm deep, with straps that hang down by 32cm, but you can easily adjust it to make it the size you need.

Sewing with oilcloth isn’t as tricky as you might think, these are the key points to remember:
• Oilcloth can be slippery, so just take your time.
• To maintain the waterproofing abilities of oilcloth, be careful not to puncture it with pins while you’re working. Try using sewing clips instead. If you do use pins, insert them only within the seam allowance edge so your bag is still waterproof.
• Be careful not to iron the oilcloth directly because this can melt the laminate coating. Instead, place a piece of spare fabric over the oilcloth and then apply the iron, but only briefly.